NHL DraftKings 12/23/2018
We got 6 NHL match ups for tonight’s 7PM DraftKings:
Florida @ Chicago 7PM
Philadelphia @ NY Rangers 7PM
Detroit @ Toronto 7:30 PM
Los Angeles @ Las Vegas 8PM
Arizona @ San Jose 8PM
NY Islanders @ Dallas 8PM
A couple of really good match ups before hockey takes a 3 day break over the Christmas holiday.
Claude Giroux
Photo Credit: NJ.com
Center: A lot of good centers to pick from today with this many teams playing. Matthews and Tavares lead the way at $8,300 and $7,900 in value. The Leafs faces Detroit which ranks 21st in the league against opposing centers so it’s definitely a favorable matchup for either center. But for my squad I’m going to go with some slightly cheaper options in Giroux at $7,000 and Barkov at $6,900. Barkov is averaging just over a point per game and 4.3 FPPG and going up against a very favorable match up with the Blackhawks. The Backhawks have only allowed 4 total goals in their last 3 games but had allowed 3+ goals in the 14 games before that, so expect the Blackhawks to return to normalcy. Giroux is another center lighting it up this season for the Flyers with 42 pts in 34 games and has averaged 4.6 fppg. Another favorable match up for Giroux as the Flyers take on the NY Rangers.
Wings: Would I even be doing my job right if I didn’t pick Patrick Kane. Patrick Kane is at $7,400 going up against the Florida Panthers who rank 25th against wingers so far this season, and we are talking about arguably the best winger in the game. The other 2 wingers in my squad, i’m going with some value picks. I really like Nylander at $4,200. Nylander has been pretty abysmal since finally ending his holdout and inking that big deal. He has 2 pts in 8 games, but this has to change at some point. Nylander has obviously suffered from not being on the ice but tonight is the night that Nylander knocks the rust off, and at $4,200 it could be a big bang for your buck. The other winger i’m going with is Kovalchuk at $3,600. Kovalchuk had been a disappointment in his return to the NHL in his first 25 games of the season with just 14 points. Then Kovalchuk got injured and was out for the last month and was just activated yesterday and scored 2 goals in a win against San Jose. I’m riding the hot streak and hoping Kovalchuk continues to build on this.
Defense: My first defender that I’m going with is Shea Theodore. Theodore is priced at $4,500 and with a 2.8 FPPG vs the 23rd ranked team against D-men, this should be a good match up. My other defender is also another value pick with Dennis Cholowski at $3,700. 2.3 FPPG against Toronto who is actually the 28th ranked team against opposing defenders.
Goalie: In goal i’m going with Robin Lehner at $7,600. The Islander goalie has a .917 save % in 14 games this season. The Islanders are facing the Stars who are a middle of the road offensive team and is coming off an OT game yesterday in Minnesota. The Islanders on the other hand have had 3 days off, so Lehner at $7,600 seems to be pretty good value.
UTIL: For my utility option I’m going with another player who has come back from injury as of late. Paul Stastny has only played 8 games this season and has just 3 pts. He also has those 3 points in the 5 games he’s played since returning from injury. Also a very good match up for Stastny against the last place LA Kings who also rank 26th in the league against centers.
Lineup:
C Aleksander Barkov $6,900
C Claude Giroux $7,000
W Patrick Kane $7,400
W Ilya Kovalchuk $3,600
W William Nylander $4,200
D Shea Theodore $4,500
D Dennis Cholowski $3,700
G Robin Lehner $7,600
UTIL Paul Stastny $5,000